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Jama Masjid

Amidst the dense and thickly populated Field Ganj area here stands a dilapidated mosque, which has been a mute witness to some turbulent moments of history. The Jama Masjid Choon Gharan, now called Field Ganj, may be presenting a desolate look today, but it was not always so. The mosque had remained a center of hectic activity during the freedom struggle.
The mosque is managed by the grandchildren of Maulana Habib-ur-Rehman Ludhianvi, a leading freedom fighter who spent considerable time of his life in jail with various nationalist leaders. He was jailed for the first time in 1932 when he resorted to individual satyagraha on the call of Mahatma Gandhi.
For Atiq-ur-Rehman Ludhianvi, the mosque has a sentimental attachment. So have thousands of others who have grown up in and around this mosque. Mr Rehman remarks, “It leads to nostalgic memories about our past when things were quite different from what they are today”.
Ludhiana at the time of Partition was a Muslim majority city. However, Hindus and Sikhs were not in less number either. The population ratio was slightly in favour of Muslims. But the three communities lived in peace and harmony. But there were some exceptional cases when the British managed to create a chasm between the two communities. So much so that water was served to people as “Hindu water”and “Muslim water” at the railway station. But the saner voices always prevailed.
The Rehmans have no regrets of staying back in India. In fact, their association with nationalist leaders like Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Maulana Azad and Asaf Ali and deep faith in the promise of secularism that held them back in India. And Rehmans believe that more or less the promise was kept.
The mosque had been occupied in 1947 after the partition when most of the Muslims migrated to Pakistan. The Rehmans had also shifted to Delhi, where they had been provided accommodation near Jama Masjid, by no less a person than the then Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. The mosque had been converted into a Gurdwara. However, in 1956 the then Chief Minister of Punjab, Mr Pratap Singh Kairon, got it vacated and regular prayers started from the same year. The Rehmans were also prevailed upon to return to their native city and they started management of the mosque from that year only.

Pir-I-Dastgir shrine

The fort to the north-west of Ludhiana includes the shrine of Pir-I-Dastgir, also known as Abdul Kadir Galani which draws both Hindu and Muslim pilgrims.

Bilwanwali Masjid

Mosque of Kamal-ud-din Khan/Sarai Doraha on the main highway, dates back to Emperor Jahangir's time. Rectangular in shape it has rooms and varandahs on all sides. Two great double storied gates are profusely decorated with coloured tiles and intricate brick carvings. Bhir has the famous mosque built by Mohammad Ghori in 1911.